Danish Brotherhood in America is a fraternal organization that was founded in 1882 in

Omaha Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

. It had about 8,000 members in 2010. A period report said of the Danish Brotherhood, "This is by far the strongest and most influential secular organization about the Danes in America."

History

In 1881, Mark Hansen formed the Danish Arms Brothers, a group of Danish veterans who had fought in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

or the

Danish-Prussian War The Second Schleswig War (; or German Danish War), also sometimes known as the Dano-Prussian War or Prusso-Danish War, was the second military conflict over the Schleswig–Holstein question of the nineteenth century. The war began on 1 Februa ...

, in

. Other societies sprang up in

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

and

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

. In January 1882, five of these societies met in a convention in Omaha and decided to form an ethnic fraternal order that would offer benefits to its members as well as preserving Danish culture and traditions. The order grew steadily; at the end of its first year of existence it had six lodges and 200 members. By 1889, it had 883 members and in 1891, 2,000 in 41 lodges. In 1897, it was reported to have 10,000 members in

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

, Illinois, Wisconsin,

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, Iowa,

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state, state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Dakota people, Dakota Sioux ...

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

, Nebraska,

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

and

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

. In 1923, the Brotherhood had 283 lodges in at least 15 states with 19,176 members. By 1925, the Danish Brotherhood in America had 21,000 members. In 1979, it was back down to 10,000 members in 150 lodges. The Supreme President of the Brotherhood as of 1923 was Soren Iversen of New Haven, Connecticut. In 1960, the Brotherhood began a scholarship program. The organization merged into Woodmen of the World and/or Assured Life Association in August 1995. Most of the records of the Danish Brotherhood in the United States and Canada are located at the Danish American Archive and Library in Blair, Nebraska, USA. These consist of membership lists by location with information of potential use by genealogists.

Organization

The Brotherhoods local chapters were called "Lodges" and regional groups were called "Districts". The quadrennial national convention was the highest authority. Omaha remained the headquarters of the organization through at least 1979. The DBA also had a youth

auxiliary Auxiliary may refer to: In language * Auxiliary language (disambiguation) * Auxiliary verb In military and law enforcement * Auxiliary police * Auxiliaries, civilians or quasi-military personnel who provide support of some kind to a military se ...

, the Young Vikings. In addition to fraternal benefits members of this group competed to attend a summer jamboree.

Insurance and benefits

At a convention in Milwaukee in September 1919, the Brotherhood unanimously agreed to a new benefits plan that would put the organization on a 100% solvent basis. Under the new system each policy would be charged with its deficiency which could be paid up all at once or at the death of the policyholder.

Notable buildings

Notable buildings of the group include: * Omaha National Bank Building was the Brotherhoods headquarters as 1924. * Washington Hall (Seattle, Washington), built in 1908, renovated in 2010 * Columbia Hall, in

Dannebrog, Nebraska Dannebrog is a village in Howard County, Nebraska, United States. It is part of the Grand Island, Nebraska Micropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 303 at the 2010 census. History The first settlement at Dannebrog was made in 1871 by ...

, also built in 1908 * Danish Brotherhood Hall, Lodge #227,

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

, built 1915 but vacant as of 2021. * Danish Brotherhood in America National Headquarters Building, 3717 Harney Street in Omaha was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. It was built in 1966. The brotherhood building in

Kenosha Kenosha () is a city in Kenosha County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is the fourth-most populous city in Wisconsin, with a population of 99,986 at the 2020 census. Situated on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan, Ke ...

, was burned during the riots in 2020.

History

Organization

Insurance and benefits

Notable buildings

See also

References

Further reading